Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro

2022 - 2023

From:

Nigeria

Sector:

Manufacturing

Location:

Nigeria

Achenyo is a computer scientist turned social entrepreneur and the founder of MitiMeth, an award winning social enterprise based in Nigeria. After a long sojourn in the U.S. she relocated to Nigeria and started MitiMeth out of a strong conviction to create positive social and environmental impact at the grassroots. She decided to focus her attention on providing homegrown solutions to environmental challenges in the communities, and she hit the nail on the head with water hyacinth! The prevalence of water hyacinth, an invasive aquatic weed, wreaking havoc in several riparian communities presented an opportunity for her to develop a win-win solution attractive to the communities negatively affected by the water hyacinth infestation. Her solution was to engage the communities in harvesting and transforming the weeds into décor and lifestyle products that could be sold in domestic and international markets. MitiMeth designs and produces handwoven interior décor such as mirrors, area rugs, lighting, tableware, planters, wall tapestries, stationery, accent furniture and fashion accessories. She tells the world that MitiMeth is a tangible expression of the message she had been preaching on waste recovery and transformation for beneficial use and impact in Nigeria which has the largest population in Africa. The Nigerian environment is rife with every curveball imaginable and is a good batting ground for testing business models. If an entrepreneur gets it right here, success is guaranteed.